Windows Phone 8

In a recently released survey meant for Xbox Live users, Microsoft got a bit curious about people’s smartphone preferences. Fair enough — they’ve got some skin in the game, after all — but there was something slightly amiss about how the question was framed. What the designers of the survey didn’t seem to realize is that there’s no such thing as an HTC… Read More

Microsoft will issue an update for Windows Phone 8 next month, to fix a random rebooting problem that can affect the OS, flagged up on user forums. “We’re continuing to investigate some reports of phones rebooting and have identified a cause with our partners. We are working to get an over-the-air update out in December,” it said. Read More

Microsoft really seems to enjoy giving users of competing products a few challenges to convince them to switch to its own tools: not only does the company want you to Bing It On, but Microsoft now also wants you to Meet Your Match. This new initiative is the follow-up to the (not always uncontroversial) Smoked by Windows Phone campaign Microsoft started at CES earlier this year. Read More

Some Windows Phone 8 users are reporting problems with random reboots and freezes. It is unclear exactly what is triggering the problems — and whether they are related or down to specific issues with different handsets, although since multiple handsets from different makers are involved a problem relating to the OS seems most likely. Read More

Just about a year ago, SkyDrive launched a new set of APIs and, over the course of the last year, Microsoft’s cloud strorage service also rolled out SDKs for virtually every major platform. Today, Microsoft is launching a set of new SDKs for .NET and Windows Phone 8 developers. Read More

Nokia is running ads in Europe for its Windows Phone 8 devices that are emblazoned with the legend ‘everyone loves a comeback’. But with Google’s Android OS now the undisputed champion of a market Nokia once dominated, the company has got its work cut out to turn things around. Can it battle back? Nokia’s VP of Western Europe, Conor Pierce, is talking tough. Read More

Windows Phone 8 is hitting Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile this year. But Sprint customers will have to wait until 2013. For unknown reasons, the carrier is not getting any versions of the Nokia or HTC WinPhone 8 handsets at launch.
Perhaps Sprint’s hesitance has something to do with the lackluster performance of Windows Phone 7. This is a wise move. Read More

The existence of Samsung’s Verizon-bound Ativ Odyssey smartphone was one of the bigger surprises at Microsoft’s recent Windows Phone 8 launch event — it was the only handset highlighted that hadn’t already been revealed — but no one was willing to talk details at the time.
That’s unfortunately still the case now, but thanks to a newly-released photo… Read More

Well, there we have it: after vaguely pointing to a November launch window for its first batch of Windows Phone 8 handsets, AT&T has finally decided to get a bit more specific.
Nokia’s long-awaited Lumia 820 and 920 will both launch on November 9 (that’s this Friday, in case you were curious), with pre-orders for the handsets beginning tomorrow. Read More

Latest Crunch Report

Three mobile operating systems dominate the market: iOS, Android, and now Windows Phone 7/8. Each has their interface strengths — iOS is clean where Android is customizable where WP8 is dynamic.
But what if you could have the best of all three?
Designer and Wrapp cofounder Max Rudberg has attempted to portray this hybrid OS, putting live tiles and widgets on the iOS home screen. Read More

Following Monday’s reveal of Windows Phone 8, the most recent update to Microsoft’s mobile phone operating system, backend service provider Urban Airship is announcing that it has entered into an agreement with Microsoft to be the preferred provider for push messaging services on the new platform. Read More

Windows Azure Mobile Services will now support Windows Phone 8. The news came in the keynote this morning at the Build conference where today’s focus is all about Azure, the Microsoft cloud infrastructure. Read More

Microsoft is sounding very bullish about the Sisyphean challenge facing it in the smartphone space: to transform Windows Phone from an also-ran into a serious, top-three smartphone contender — pointing to lessons learned from the Xbox launch on how to be an underdog and still end up as market leader. It also reckons it has “a huge catalyst” for selling Windows Phones —… Read More

Microsoft is really pushing the personalised angle of Windows Phone 8 — so much so it’s co-opted sometimes over-enthusiastic CEO Steve Ballmer into showing off his own Windows Phone and voicing one of the new ads. The move deliberately (or otherwise) echoes that of another tech CEO called Steve narrating a commercial (albeit, Apple’s Jobs’ The Crazy Ones ad never… Read More

The Samsung ATIV S is a whopper of a Windows Phone. Indeed it looks like Samsung has repurposed the Samsung GSIII’s generous form to accomodate Microsoft’s latest WP8 OS. The phone is very thin and light which certainly helps keep the heft down, and it felt polished rather than plasticky. But if you’re not a fan of reflective surfaces then its all-over glossy sheen might… Read More

Windows Phone 8 is coming to European carriers this weekend, coming to the rest of the world in November, with devices from Lumia, HTC and Samsung including the 920, 8X and Ativ S hitting online stores and retail shelves. The mobile OS has been anticipated for a while now, but this is the first we’ve heard of a specific street date, so now you know when you can actually get your hands… Read More

Another update to Windows Phone 8 that’s been announced today is a new feature in the People Hub called Rooms. This allows Windows Phone 8 users to parcel up their contacts so they send group messages to particular sub-sets of people, share location, calendars, shared to-do lists and more. Read More

Today at the Windows Phone 8 press conference, Microsoft unveiled a new feature for the operating system. Kid’s Corner is specifically targeted at your children who are so attracted by the vivid screen of your phone. In that mode, they can safely use certain games or apps. Read More

Event cancellations aside, today is still shaping up to be a big day for smartphone fans — Google has just officially outed some shiny new (if not entirely unexpected) hardware, and we’re here at the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium to catch up with Microsoft and see what’s new with Windows Phone 8.
If you’ll recall, Microsoft hasn’t been completely forthcoming with… Read More

Nokia today officially announced that it will be offering the Nokia Lumia 822 as part of its “Fall portfolio,” bringing the Windows Phone 8-powered Lumia 820 variant exclusively to Verizon’s network. This version offers wireless charging, an 8 MP camera on the back and 1.2 MP camera on the front, as well as LTE support and switchable shells. No word yet on specific… Read More